


Merry Christmas from the Carraway "Brothers"

by Ashfen



Series: A Decade of Love [6]
Category: Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby (1974), The Great Gatsby (2013)
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Eve, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Presents, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, M/M, They love each other so much, how close can Jay get to saying I love you without saying it?, mama knows they're in love, the answer is so close you can't believe Nick doesn't realize, they bully each other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-22
Updated: 2019-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-09 10:41:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21895384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ashfen/pseuds/Ashfen
Summary: 1930. A little over 12 hours of Christmas in Nick and Jay's apartment building, in which they have made a tradition of playing Santa.
Relationships: Nick Carraway & Jay Gatsby, Nick Carraway/Jay Gatsby
Series: A Decade of Love [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1537345
Comments: 4
Kudos: 70





	Merry Christmas from the Carraway "Brothers"

11:59 P.M., December 24th. All the final touches were being put into place for tomorrow - or rather, for that morning; the clock had turned over.  
"Merry Christmas, Jay…"  
"Merry Christmas, old sport."  
The two men chuckled and smiled tiredly at each other, wrapping and labeling the last few gifts before dropping onto the bed and into each other's arms at exactly 12:16 A.M..  
This would be their third year doing this. They actually finished packaging early this time.

6:30 A.M., the work began. A bedsheet was used to carry all the presents, and Nick was in the middle of tying it as Jay donned the red suit. Their neighbor, Margaret, had fixed them out of her late husband's long-johns after hearing them discussing options the very first year that Jay had been living with him. She'd insisted that Stephen would've given it to them himself if he was still around, so they accepted it graciously. Every year a week before Christmas one of them would go over to her apartment and help her around the house while she did any needed maintenance on the suit, and that year had been no different.  
"You know, while I was at Momma Margaret's, she called me Mr. Claus. Do you think her eyes are going?"  
"What makes you think that?"  
"Wouldn't you be Mr. Claus?"  
Jay poked his head into the room with a raised eyebrow.  
"Do you not get it?"  
"No?"  
A knowing smile found its way onto Jay's face.  
"Well then maybe you're not supposed to know what she meant, old sport."  
"You know, I hate when you're cryptic like that."  
"Of course you do, Nick."  
"I'm serious you ass."  
Jay grinned and laughed, causing Nick to sigh softly and smile back.  
"Of course you are old sport."

9 A.M.; they were on the ground floor of the building, and the children had been let loose. Nick for one, was grateful that Jay was always Santa for this purpose.  
"Oh my goodness! You've all grown so much since last year!" Bless him, he even went so far as to do a voice every year. It wasn't a _good_ voice, but it was a voice.  
"Who are these new little faces? I've never seen these two before!"  
"Oh, these are the two youngest, Lucille and Carolyn. Seven months old now."  
The woman, Dorothy, had five kids - seven with the addition of Lucille and Carolyn - of various ages, with the oldest being 12 and the youngest prior to the two newest being four. She seemed somewhat overwhelmed at times, but they both helped when they could.  
"Well, Santa's elves made you two dears something very special!"  
With that he opened the makeshift sack and looked around inside for a moment before pulling out a small parcel wrapped in cheap foil with snowflakes and bells on it, a paper tag tied to it with the girls' names written in a looped script. Gatsby only grinned back at Dorothy's smile. Inside Nick knew was a small book of children's stories, one that he'd written himself: they discovered that he had a knack for them.  
"Little Roy Cowan! Having a growth spurt aren't you? You've gotten so big since last year!"  
"Have I really mister? I don't notice much."  
"Yes you have, and I'd say growing boys need larger clothes!" He said, pulling out another box and giving it to the young boy before handing him a cookie. "They _also_ need to eat more, okay?"  
"Thank you Santa, sir!"  
"Please, just Santa's fine little one!"  
Jay gave what Nick assumed was supposed to be a jolly laugh, although it sounded more like it was a wet wheeze. Nick smirked under his hand.

11:34 A.M. and the children had all opened their presents, now sitting on the floor around Jay's chair as he recited _Twas the Night Before Christmas_.  
"But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight: Happy Christmas to all! And to all; a good night."  
He closed with a soft voice, smiling warmly at them all. It was fascinating to Nick how he managed to memorize the poem every year without fail. He had the Lees' little girl Rosa on his knee - the girl had _insisted_ on helping him tell the story - and she seemed disappointed when she finally had to get down.

12:02 P.M., children had been reconnected to their parents, and Nick was helping to clean up while Gatsby was in the apartment getting changed out of the suit.  
"We all really appreciate the two of you doing this every year, y'know." A young woman - Mrs. Poole - was beside him, gathering shreds of tinsel from the floor. He looked over bashfully.  
"Oh, really, it's not that big of a deal--"  
"It is. Maybe you don't think so, but I can promise you that it is. The kids look forward to it, and I know you two put in a lot of work with everyone to make it happen. It's… Nice, to see two brothers like you putting in this much effort."  
It took a great deal of effort for him to not roll his eyes.  
"Brothers, yeah."

3:42 P.M.. The two men were on the couch under several blankets, now sorely reminded of the lack of a heat stove in the apartment as they clung to each other.  
"I still think your laugh could use some work."  
"Aw, I think it's pretty good."  
"You sound like a drowning cat!"  
"You're just jealous old sport."  
"Jealous of deaf people, maybe."  
Nick smiled some, and Jay fell backwards with an arm resting daintily over his brow.  
"Oh, I'm hurt! So _deeply_ wounded by your words! Oh, I'll never be able to recover my pride!"  
"Says the one who teases me constantly whenever we do anything."  
"I don't tease you _that_ much-"  
"First time?"  
He saw Jay pause. It was surprisingly satisfying.  
"... Fair point. I guess you want me to stop?"  
"That, or don't complain when I tell you the truth about how you sound."  
"Hm… a difficult choice."  
"Well then you can decide over lunch. Care to join me?"  
Nick rose from the sofa, and offered Jay his hand with a small smile. The man's eyes twinkled as he took it, and he beamed once he stood up.  
"If I ever turn down lunch with you, consider the possibility that it's an imposter."  
"Duly noted."

8:27 P.M. saw them curled up on the couch again, the only light coming from the string of bulbs on the tree in the corner. They set it up at the beginning of the month, but waited to decorate it until Christmas eve, before they began the last minute rush to wrap and label. Of course, Jay had managed to sneak a bit of mistletoe into the house and over the sofa, and had been holding it above their heads for some time before Nick eventually caved in and kissed him a few times.  
"So does Santa have any gifts for me, or were those kisses my present?" He teased, and Jay grinned as he stood and started into their bedroom.  
"They were a little something extra," The man called over various rustling noises before returning with a small wrapped box in his hands, leaning in to give Nick another light kiss on the corner of his mouth. "our little secret."  
"You probably say that to all the elves."  
He settled onto the sofa again with a smirk.  
"Seems I've been found out."  
With that he handed the box over for Nick to open, watching him so intensely that the other considered deliberately taking extra care to move slowly. However, he decided to be nice this time.

Under the foil wrapping was a simple box whose lid he lifted carefully, only to smile warmly at the contents. A fleece hat and scarf set, both speckled hazel in color.  
"Oh... Jay, how did you--"  
"I always thought it was a shame that you never had anything that matched your eyes, so I did all I could to find someone who would know how to make it." Jay explained almost sheepishly before taking Nick's face in his hands and gently stroking his cheek with his thumb. "They really are a beautiful color, old sport."  
The man felt his face heat at Jay's gaze, intimidated by the intense affection held within. However, no words came to him in their moment of intimacy. Eventually Gatsby pulled away, and what had surely only been seconds felt like hours.  
"Your gift."  
"What about it?"  
"I, I need a second to grab it. It's not wrapped, unfortunately."  
"That's alright old sport, take your time."  
With that Nick rose to his feet, hastily approaching his desk and searching for the book.  
He found it within a few moments, the hard cover standing out starkly against his loose manuscripts. Taking it in his hands, Nick returned to the couch and sat back down before meekly handing it over to Jay. He began shifting uncomfortably as soon as the man opened to the first page.  
"I'm sorry it's not something more-- thoughtful, I suppose. It's just that, well, you inspire me. I'm really not sure what it is about you that does it, but looking at you sparks a creative fire in me-- I'm sorry, that was awfully personal, wasn't it? Just-- forget I said any--"  
"Oh, Nick…"

The way he quietly smiled as he leafed through the pages was almost surreal; his touch ever so gentle, his eyes sparkling as they danced across the words. It took Jay a long moment to place the book on the table.  
"This is lovely. And it's exactly something you'd do, too. _God_, you're lovely, Nick."  
The man reached out to gently caress Nick's cheek, closing the distance between them until their lips touched. The other relaxed into it.  
Jay's other hand came around to cup his face as the two men shifted some, Nick carefully supporting his weight on his elbows. Gatsby spoke between kisses all over Nick's face.  
"Where would I be without you, Nick? Hm? The light of my life…"  
"If you keep saying things like that, I might start to believe you Jay."  
"Well then I suppose I'll just have to convince you."

Hands skirted through his hair as Jay kissed him again, a bit more pressed this time; Nick opened his mouth to invite him inside, and he quickly accepted.  
Gatsby, Nick noted - for what felt like the thousandth time - was quite skilled with his mouth. That, or it was something about Jay himself that caused heat to rapidly build in the pit of his stomach when their tongues twisted.  
Nick had never considered himself to have a 'type'; he wasn't picky about men, and so far there had never been anything that had made him more or less attracted to someone.  
At least, there hadn't been before Gatsby.  
Now however, he experienced nothing - _nothing!_ \- if not a lukewarm reaction at best to any man that wasn't the green-eyed Adonis currently seeming to struggle with the buttons on his vest.  
"Would you be opposed to any help?"  
"Very much so; I should pamper you for weeks for this one, old sport."  
_Pamper_ him! Gatsby wanted to pamper _him_! Of all people! His face flushed.  
"You really do know how to fluster someone, Jay…"  
"I'd hope so, considering that I'm trying very hard to fluster you."  
"Well then you've done very well."  
Jay grinned and kissed at his neck.

9 P.M. and the two were in bed, Nick's still somewhat shallow breaths pairing with the deep sighs that lulled him to sleep every night. However, this time it only served to fluster him more. The two were huddled together under the blankets, completely nude - and rather cold, or at least Nick was - in the aftermath of their escapade. The problem herein lie in the fact that Gatsby was already asleep, and was holding him in a tangled grip.  
Well… It was Christmas, he could tolerate it just this once.

**Author's Note:**

> I was gonna post this Christmas morning but I couldn't wait that long, it's been done since the 17th so hopefully someone commends me on my patience, considering the fact that I normally post my fics within an hour of finishing them.  
Hope you all enjoyed this early Christmas present!


End file.
